Todd and Barbie Briggs, who pastor a church in Atlanta, Ga., worship during the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in Houston. More than 4,500 attended the annual convention.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Todd and Barbie Briggs, who pastor a church in Atlanta, Ga.,...

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With her Bible in hand, Loree Becton of Richmond, Va., shares a laugh with attendees during the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in Houston.

Jon Marks, a worship pastor at First Baptist Orlando in Orlando, Fla., worships during the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in Houston.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Jon Marks, a worship pastor at First Baptist Orlando in Orlando,...

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A group of women from Houston pray over prayer requested in a dedicated prayer room during the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in Houston.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

A group of women from Houston pray over prayer requested in a...

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Kaye Trickett, of Houston, prays in a dedicated prayer room during the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in Houston.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Kaye Trickett, of Houston, prays in a dedicated prayer room during...

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Attendees at the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting walk through the exhibit area at the George R. Brown Convention Center Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in Houston.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Attendees at the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting...

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Todd Briggs, who pastors a church in Atlanta, Ga., prays during the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in Houston.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Todd Briggs, who pastors a church in Atlanta, Ga., prays during the...

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Attendees make their way into the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in Houston.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Attendees make their way into the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention...

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Rev. Fred Luter Jr. points upward after being re-elected as the Southern Baptist Convention's president during the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in Houston. Luter was the SBC's first African American president.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Rev. Fred Luter Jr. points upward after being re-elected as the...

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Rev. Fred Luter Jr. is congratulated after being re-elected as the Southern Baptist Convention's president during the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in Houston. Luter was the SBC's first African American president.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Rev. Fred Luter Jr. is congratulated after being re-elected as the...

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Richard Land, Houston native and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, speaks during the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in Houston.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Richard Land, Houston native and former president of the Southern...

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Richard Land, Houston native and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), left, stands with the new president of the ERLC Russell Moore as they answer questions during the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in Houston.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Richard Land, Houston native and former president of the Southern...

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Russell Moore, the newly appointed president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, speaks during the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in Houston.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Russell Moore, the newly appointed president of the Southern...

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Russell Moore, the newly appointed president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, speaks during the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center Tuesday, June 11, 2013, in Houston.

Photo: Johnny Hanson, Houston Chronicle

Russell Moore, the newly appointed president of the Southern...

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Daniel L. Akin, president of the Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, delivers the convention sermon during the Southern Baptist Convention 2013 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas, Wednesday June 12, 2013. Akin's sermon concluded the annual convention.

Just one man spoke in opposition to a resolution passed by Southern Baptists on Wednesday denouncing the Boy Scouts of America for allowing openly gay youth.

Charlie Dale, a representative from Indian Springs First Baptist Church in Alabama, received some applause. He noted Scouts already oppose all sexual activity of boys. He also argued that any child who says he is gay has been exposed to something he should not have been and needs to be brought into the fold for counseling, not cast out.

"I don't think we'd kick such a boy out of our Sunday schools," Dale said. "I don't think we should hold the Boy Scouts to a standard we would not put on our churches. Such a boy needs our love. Let's show them what real Biblical manhood is about and love them."

The applause was louder for every other speaker who consistently supported the measure or sought to make its language even stricter. The Southern Baptist Convention is holding its annual meeting in Houston.

The convention is the international organizing body for Southern Baptist churches, but allows individual congregations significant autonomy.

Boy Scouts of America statistics rank Baptists sixth for the number of Scouts sponsored. Not differentiating between Southern Baptists and other versions of the denomination, Scouts reports that Baptists sponsor 108,353 youth in 3,981 units.

Read more from the Southern Baptist Convention in Thursday's Houston Chronicle.